The present disclosure relates generally to the transport of packaged new or spent fluorescent lamps and more particularly to a mercury (Hg) capture system effective to capture vaporous Hg released occasioned by the breaking of such packaged new or spent fluorescent lamps during accumulation and/or transport. The present disclosure also can relate to other devices containing mercury and the transport/storage of elemental Hg.
While fluorescent lamps may be an advantageous choice for energy conservation, their Hg content presents environmental problems for fluorescent lamps whether they are new or spent. Proposed solutions for transporting spent fluorescent lamps include U.S. Pat. No. 7,631,758 (“the '758 patent”, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference), which describes an inner box, an intermediate vapor resistant bag that includes a laminate of foil, and an outer box. Not addressed in this packaging system is the capture and containment of released Hg caused by the breaking of such packaged transported fluorescent lamps using a recyclable adsorbent.
Prior proposals for the capture of released Hg include US Pub. No. 2008/0312489, which proposes the use of sulfur to capture released Hg from broken fluorescent lamps. US Pub. No. 2007/0123660 proposes the use of a binding ligand (e.g., cysteine) and an ionic liquid (e.g., alky-3-methylimidazolium cation) adsorbed on a substrate (e.g., silica) for the capture of mercury, lead, zinc, and cadmium. US Pub. No. 2007/0140940 proposes to remove Hg from flue gas from a coal-burning power utility using oxidative sorbents including silicates bearing oxidative metal halides and/or sulfates. Johnson, et al. (“Mercury Vapor Release from Broken Compact Fluorescent Lamps and In Situ Capture by New Nanomaterial Sorbents”, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42, 5772-5778) propose the use of toxic nano-selenium for the capture of Hg released from broken fluorescent lamps. U.S. Pat. No. 7,410,054 proposes the use of sulfur-impregnated carbon paper, a desiccant package of sulfur-impregnated activated carbon particles, or a strip of sulfur chalk for the capture of Hg released from broken fluorescent lamps.